If you stop by any senior citizen center, you can probably guess what you would find inside. Folks in their golden years enjoying coffee, cookies and maybe some feisty card-playing. At the Fun After Fifty center in Britton, you’ll find all of the above. However, on select days of the week, you’ll also see seniors counting nuts and bolts or slipping instruction pamphlets into plastic sleeves. Perhaps a strange sight, but one that has been a regular occurrence at Fun After Fifty for decades.
The reason the local seniors are packaging hardware and brochures is due to a unique partnership in the community. The work is done for Horton. Fun After Fifty contracts with the local manufacturer to package items for them. Horton’s Director of Manufacturing, Jim Boyko, explained that the seniors package small parts kits and information that Horton subsequently sends out in kits to repair their clutches.
Ralph Skare who helps with the work at Fun After Fifty thinks they have been doing this for close to 30 years. Way back when, the group assembled some bigger items, but over the years, it has become smaller kits and packets of information. For instance, they might have to put instructional brochures into plastic sleeves and then seal them. Or a certain number of nuts, bolts or washers into small bags.
Every week, Horton will drop off the materials for the jobs they need done on Wednesday as well as pick up the current week’s work. Jack Erickson, who helps organize the effort at the senior center, said that Horton might have anywhere between two to seven jobs that they need done for a week.
Between 15 and 25 people will gather at the center a few mornings a week to work on the jobs. “Usually we work Monday and Tuesday morning from 8:15 to 10:00,” said Erickson. “Recently, we had seven orders in a week and worked until Thursday.” Erickson added that they have quality checks amongst themselves and always double check to make sure the work is being done correctly.
For their part, Horton is happy with the product. “We love working with them,” emphasized Boyko. “What they produce is of stellar quality and we count them as one of our most trusted suppliers.” He added that if the seniors were not doing this work, there would be cost implications of having to outsource it. “We are grateful to have a conscientious and caring local group to do this kind of work,” he noted.
Besides the good work being done, the partnership is valued for financial reasons as well. Horton pays Fun After Fifty directly. “None of us get paid in the traditional sense,” said Erickson. “We’re all volunteers. The money goes to the center.” He adds that how much they make varies every year based on the number of jobs, but it has been as much as $40,000 some years.
This money is important to the center at the most basic level. Erickson said they used the funds to actually purchase their building in the past years. They also use their earnings to maintain and repair the center. Just recently, they replaced a number of lights. Erickson points out that most senior citizens centers are subsidized, perhaps by a city or county. But Fun After Fifty in Britton is essentially independent, and the money made from working with Horton allows this to continue.
Besides maintaining the physical building, the funds are also used in other notable ways. Fun After Fifty donates to many causes in the community. “In the past, we have donated to the Marshall County Ambulance shed, to the purchase of a new ambulance, and the building of the Event Center,” said Erickson. Other causes donated to include Marshall County Shooting Sports, the Salvation Army and Missoula Children’s Theater productions. “Anytime someone has a need in the community, we’ll consider that,” added Erickson.
In addition to helping worthwhile causes, the volunteers also get something less tangible out of the experience. The seniors value and enjoy the work they are doing. “It gives us something to do,” said Lorraine Knudson, who also helps manage the day to day operation of Fun After Fifty. She noted that she gets calls asking when there’s work to be done.
“The work gives us a reason to get up in the morning,” Knudson stressed. “We feel needed here.” She adds that the group works diligently but also enjoys the social aspect of it. The coffee and cookies are always on and there is good conversation to be had.
Fun After Fifty even received an award in the past for the work they do. They were recognized by the American Legion for their efforts to employ senior citizens.
On their side, Horton is happy to be able to work with the local seniors. “This is a really cool partnership,” said Boyko. “It’s mutually beneficial to Horton, the city and the folks at Fun After Fifty.”
“We’ve had a great group through the years,” remarked Skare. “It’s good for people to have this opportunity as they get older. We’d love to see it continue into the future.”
